T’Pol learns to never meet your heroes, or at least it’ll feel that way at first until you discover they were actually pretty ok in the first place? So maybe T’Pol learns about first impressions? Overall we quite liked this episode despite a few story troubles. Lots of excitement and intrigue in this episode! T’Pol gets a chance develop as a real character and we see that not all Vulcans are the cold, distant, and generally disagreeable lot we’ve met so far.
We’re short two members this episode!
Memory Alpha: Link
Enterprise 1×23 – Fallen Hero
Directed by Patrick Norris
Written by Alan Cross, Rick Berman & Brannon Braga
Guest Stars: John Rubinstein, Fionnula Flanagan
There Are Four Mics is a weekly Star Trek podcast discussing the Star Trek episodes and movies in stardate order. Join Jason Allen, Joe Heiser and Joshua B. Jones as we discuss the 23rd episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, Fallen Hero.
Direct download available here: Link
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Music credits:
Faith of the Heart/Where My Heart Will Take Me – performed by Russell Watson, Jerry Lubbock, and the New York Trek Orchestra
Archer’s Theme – Dennis McCarthy and New York Trek Orchestra
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Show Notes
Cold Open
Over dinner, T’Pol expresses concern that Archer and Trip have gone nearly a year without getting some action and recommends a nearby resort planet from the Vulcan database called Risa.
Act I
Trip and T’Pol are pushing back against Archer’s efforts to skip vacation, when their conversation is interrupted by a call from Starfleet Command. The Enterprise is ordered to pick up the Vulcan ambassador V’Lar on a nearby planet and return her to an incoming Vulcan ship.
Once they arrive at their destination, they learn that the ambassador has been expelled due to criminal misconduct, but aboard the Enterprise she seems entirely at odds with the rigid and stoic individual T’Pol’s preparations seemed to anticipate. After making jokes and being entirely un-Vulcan, T’Pol asks if V’Lar is guilty of the crimes she’s been accused of. This makes the old lady feel tired, and she is escorted back to her quarters, but not before she picks up on T’Pol’s disappointment. T’Pol later privately tells the captain that the ambassador was a motivating force behind her own career trajectory. The intimate moment between T’Pol and Archer is interrupted when a Mazarite ship asks for the ambassador back. After the captain says he needs to check with his superiors, the ship opens fire on the Enterprise.
Act II
The Enterprise disables the Mazarite vessel, and after interrogating V’Lar results in no explanation, Archer decides to reverse course and return her back to Mazar. Admiral Forrest doesn’t order the Captain to rendezvous with the Vulcan ship, but does make clear the Vulcans aren’t happy. Trip subjects Reed to some gentle ribbing over the happiness he feels when the Enterprise is in a fight, but they make amends by celebrating how sexy the 24-fingered women on Risa are probably going to be.
T’Pol interrupts the fun time Hoshi and V’Lar are having in the mess hall, and suggests the ambassador quit keeping her secrets and let the Captain in on what she’s got going on. T’Pol says she trusts the captain, and this type of secrecy only serve to fuel human resentment towards Vulcans. The ambassador reassesses and confides in T’Pol, who then makes a personal plea to the Captain to reverse course towards the Vulcan ship. He reluctantly agrees to do so.
Act III
The Mazarite ship they previously disabled has returned with a couple of buds, but the Enterprise puts the pedal to the metal and hits warp 4.9. Upon hearing that they may not reach the Vulcan ship without additional damage, the ambassador reveals she has been investigating corrupt officials that had infiltrated all levels of the Mazarite government and was there on their behalf. She tells the Captain to drop out of warp so she can surrender herself, but Archer says nah. Instead, after a brief conversation where they make fun of each other for their failing engines, the Mazarites pump up the speed forcing the Enterprise to reach warp 5 for the first time. It’s not enough, as the aliens are still gaining on them.
Act IV
Though the Mazarites are jamming their comms, the Vulcan Ambassador tries using a lesser used subspace frequency to reach the Vulcan ship which is capable of faster speeds than the Enterprise. The ship takes a direct hit to its nacelle, forcing them out of warp with the Vulcans still ten minutes away. Archer sends the Ambassador to sick bay while he tries to delay the Mazarites by quizzing them about their top speeds. They get sick of all the chit chat and launch a boarding party. Once aboard, Archer tells them she was injured in an explosion, and the Mazarites make their way down there and blast sickbay full of holes, satisfied in the belief that the ambassador is dead. The Vulcan vessel arrives and disables the three attacking vessels, and the boarding party surrenders. To add insult to injury, the Ambassador reveals to them that she is not, in fact, dead. Before boarding the Vulcan ship, V’Lar notes that T’Pol and Archer share a bond of friendship, making everybody feel a little awkward and shy.
Final Thoughts
Jason 3.5
Eh. I didn’t like a lot of the basic decisions. Archer, the Admiral, the Vulcans, they all seemed to ignore that Starfleet and Vulcan High Command are bureaucracies where no single person is the decision maker. Instead Starfleet took on a mysterious mission without getting any questions answered and Admiral Forrest gives Archer free reign. But I didn’t hate the episode, it was fun.
Josh 5.0
There were things that didn’t quite work but I liked the payoff. The motivations and logic behind the decision making is pretty thin, but I did like the scene where Admiral Forrest defers to Archer. I really like the character of V’Lar, the Mazarite Captain, and the general story of trying to outrun the bad guys and it just not being enough.
Joe 4.0
I liked it a lot. The moment the Mazarites got onto the Enterprise is where it lost me a bit. I liked that T’Pol got some more background and we see a pretty decent Vulcan for once.
Trivia
Josh:
Question: In Act 1 when Trip enters the bridge in his Hawaiian shirt, what does the golden sign next to the turbolift say?
Answer: Enterprise (Joe)
Jason:
Question: T’Pol provided three guidelines to follow when meeting the ambassador, what are they?
Answer: Do not shake her hand. Do not laugh. Don’t address the ambassador unless spoken to first. (No Answer)
Question: What agreement did the ambassador negotiate between Vulcan and Andoria.
Answer: The First Territorial Accords (No Point)
Question: When T’Pol first met the ambassador, what did she just finish negotiating?
Answer: The Treaty of Ka’Tann (No Point)
Question: How long has V’Lar been an ambassador?
Answer: 94 years (Joe)
Joe:
Question: In Act 4, Trip hails the bridge saying they need to slow down, citing a specific equipment’s failure. What was that piece of equipment?
Answer: Port Injectors (No Point)
Question: V’Lar said that in this time frame, she’d be called to testify. What was that timeframe.
Answer: 3 Months (No Point)
Question: What was the location where T’Pol and V’Lar met?
Answer: Vulcana Regar (No Point)
Question: How many Nuvian masseuses do the crew expect to find on Risa?
Answer: Over 200 (Jason)
This Week:
Jason +1
Joe +2
Josh +0
Final Tally
Joe – 25 pts
Jason – 22.25 pts
Josh – 9 pts
Chris – 7 pts
Anna – 7 pts